Lorican Alliance

Background information

Type

Members

Leader(s)

Notable members

Locations

Locations

The Lorican Alliance is a nation in Final Fantasy Type-0. Its capital is Berith. Lorica controls the Black Tortoise Crystal, which contains the power of the shield. Lorica is located precariously around the ridge of an enormous sinkhole, with legend stating that, due to their founder's daring and risktaking lifestyle, the Black Tortoise Crystal was discovered among its depths. Lorica rose to prominence on the strength of its trade and its aggressive policy of economic diplomacy.

Lorica is located in a harsh mountain region, and its Black Peristylium, situated in a large hole in the ground, manages the Black Tortoise Crystal. Loricans directly take in the power of the Crystal to strengthen their bodies, making them bigger than the people of other countries. Nearly all citizens serve as knights for the military.

This nation was referred to as Kogai in earlier footage.

Contents

In other Crystal-States, the people harness their respective Crystal's energy through magic and magiteknology. The citizens of the Lorican Alliance, however, absorb the power of the Black Tortoise Crystal directly into their flesh. As a result, their bodies are large and powerful, easily able to withstand a slew of spells or an onslaught of ammunition. They have even forged armaments using energy from their Crystal, buried beneath the land and housed within the Black Peristylium, the sole purview of the Lorican King himself. The Lorican people's Black Tortoise Armor allows them to stand tall in the face of even the mightiest Eidolons and magitek armors.

The foundations of the nation were already in place when the Black Tortoise Crystal was discovered by an industrious young Lorican named Urshanabi. The Crystal was discovered buried within the sinkhole upon whose precipice Loricans had settled, some twenty-eight years after the advent of the Vermilion Bird Crystal. The boy became the Crystal's protector as its l'Cie, and the Black Peristylium—dedicated to the cultivation of Agito like that of the Vermilion Peristylium—arose shortly thereafter.

It is said that the warriors of Lorica, renowned for their might and temper, receive the blessings of the Crystal through the anointment of of Urshanabi. The Black Peristylium is also where the Council of Lorica resides, as the Alliance was formally founded eighteen years after the dominion's establishment, on Sil. XXIX, 141 RG.

A formidable challenge to the Lorican claim for power over the region came from over the mountainside in Berith, and the ensuing power struggle engulfed the region. The year 141 wrought devastation upon the lands and people of Berith, and the once-presumptive conquerors found their land forced, and declared open war against Lorica. The Lord of Berith was found dead, and the Crystal-blessed Lorican knights claimed the mountain soon after, founding the Lorican Alliance.

Milites Empire, the home of the White Tiger Crystal, developed the Crystal Engine in 214 for use of mechanized warfare. Four years later Milites made inroads to Berith and inadvertently engaged the Lorican paladins, suffering casualties in close range combat. As the first airships were conceived the advent of mechanization in warfare changed combat forever, and the imperial cannons mounted on suits of armor tore the Lorican lines to shreds from afar. Imperial forces penetrated the Lorican heartland before the Black Tortoise l'Cie stifled their advance and brought about an armistice.

The alliance poured its efforts into combating the Crystal-powered imperial weapons and to fortify itself against potential future invasions, and to this end Lorican scholars devised a means of imbuing arms and armor with the Black Tortoise Crystal's energy. The Arms of Agito could fell the formerly invincible imperial war machines, but the Crystal alone did not suffice to supply the nation's needs. Under the guidance of the Black Tortoise l'Cie, the alliance distilled shards from the energy emanating from the Crystal. Production for the Arms of Agito became powered by these shards, and the Lorican knights became clad in the superlative equipment.

Once enough knightly orders had been outfitted with Arms of Agito, Lorica declared war on Milites. The armies again clashed in the sandy region of Berith, and with their new equipment the Loricans overwhelmed the empire. Alliance knights pursued the fleeing imperial troops into their homeland, but did not anticipate their encounter with a White Tiger l'Cie. The Black Paladins were driven out of imperial lands, but the knights' Crystal-imbued Arms of Agito saved the alliance army from total destruction at the hands of the l'Cie.

Having succeeded in mass-producing magitek armors with the power of the White Tiger Crystal, the empire sought to test the power of it new mechs and the Lorican Alliance accepted the challenge in 315. Believing their position advantageous, the Black Paladins took up their Arms of Agito and proceeded to the border, beginning the Third Lorican-Militesi War.

The Black Paladins could not demonstrate the crushing strength they had shown in the previous war. The alliance army, consisting of knightly orders of only a few dozen warriors each, was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the imperial army, and the Black Paladins were annihilated.

In wars past, the imperial army would have advanced on the Black Peristylium, where the Black Tortoise Crystal would have retaliated with l'Cie, but because the empire's objective was to test its newly developed MAs, the empire pulled back, and the war came to a close.

In 339 the Dominion of Rubrum, the home to the Vermilion Bird Crystal, that had not previously threatened the alliance, deployed an Eidolon on Lorica, which is said to have defeated a Black Tortoise l'Cie. However, Eidolons can only be summoned for a time, and the dominion sacrificed too many lives to summon it to make headway into a proper invasion of Lorica.

Loricans.

Not long after its third war with Milites, Lorica realized its Crystal arms only put it on equal footing with the empire. Unless the alliance gained the upper hand, it was only a matter of time until it would be annexed by the empire. As most wars ended due to the intervention of l'Cie, Lorican craftsmen sought to develop weapons capable of combating them, and the alliance created two armaments capable of utilizing the Black Tortoise Crystal's power: the King's Sword and the King's Armor in 348. Although either instrument was yet to be tested against a l'Cie in combat, they were superior to any the alliance had seen before, and the craftsmen set out to mass-produce them.

Creating these weapons consumed copious energy and the Black Tortoise Crystal's power began to weaken. The Lorican King halted production and the Crystal regained its power, but fearing that producing more arms would cause further deterioration, the King forbade the creation of any more such equipment.

Steeled and strengthened through centuries of war, each Crystal-State had developed formidable fighting forces convincing each head-of-state of the possibility of unifying Orience under one banner. The waning of the Crystals' power drove the four state leaders to expedite their war efforts, even if extracting energy from the Crystals exacerbated their deterioration. Fearing the weakening of the Crystals to be permanent, each nation sought to annihilate the others.

What became known as the Great Orience War began as a border dispute between the dominion and the empire. Concordia launched an assault on Rubrum's rear guard, and the dominion responded by summoning the Verboten EidolonLeviathan. While Milites focused on attacking the dominion, Lorica deployed its troops to the empire. Having driven the dominion out of Meroë Region, the empire continued its advance into the Iscah Region. The alliance tried seizing the Berith Region, but the king and the Black Paladins left Jubanla Region for Iscah to see how the King's Sword and Armor would fare. They were met by the Vermilion Bird l'Cie Kiyosaki who engaged the Lorican King, and it is said that the two warriors died impaled on each other's blades.

The empire lost more than half of its magitek armor in the clash between the king and the l'Cie. With the alliance approaching from the north, and the imperial fleet in shambles, Militesi territory was vulnerable—but with the help of its l'Cie, the empire escaped the plight. As the struggle continued, each nation's Crystal began deteriorating even more rapidly due to the replenishment the weapons, armor, and magic and through the creation of l'Cie. As the power of all four Crystals was waning, on Ventusmens IV in the year 359, the four nations ordered a ceasefire and began preparations for a peace treaty. The Pax Codex ,prohibiting the use of l'Cie in war was drawn up in 361, and in 448 the four peristylia drew up a non-governmental pledge of non-aggression, known as the Fabula Pact.

The empire drops Ultima Bomb on Lorica.

Lorica again comes under attack by the Milites Empire in 842. In an all-out war between the Lorican soldiers and Militesi troops, the nation is annihilated by an Ultima Bomb dropped by the empire, leaving a huge crater in the area of Lorica. The devastation not even leaves behind any ruins to speak of, and the city is removed from sight.

Khalia Chival VI, Chancellor of the Dominion of Rubrum, and the world of Orience, receive the news of the nation's fate. After the disaster the empire excavates the Black Tortoise Crystal from the wreckage despite being opposed by a group of paladins who survived the blast, and the area falls under imperial control. Rumors spread that Lorica vanishing from Orience marks the beginning of Tempus Finis, and that the other Crystal-States' fall would soon follow.

The excavation site of Black Tortoise Crystal.

Milites Empire captures many Lorican survivors from the remains of their homeland and brainwashes them, transforming them into living weapons of war, reducing them to shells into which the imperial army has poured an insatiable bloodlust. Having lost all autonomy, the brainwashed Loricans follow orders without question, and are infrequently deployed into battle to fight for the empire.

The king of Lorica is Gilgamesh and Enkidu serves as his royal advisor. Having forgotten who he is or any sight of his previous Focus, Gilgamesh wanders the land aimlessly, stumbling upon the Clash on Big Bridge between the empire and the dominion.

Each Lorican city-state had an organized troop of mounted paladins who converged to create the alliance army. The numbers of each knightly order varied depending on the size of their respective cities. Small villages would provide as few as fifty paladins, whereas Lorica—the largest of the city-states—boasted a total of 20,000 knights. More than 100 of these organizations existed throughout the alliance, and the entire army totaled 300,000 warriors. The armaments provided for the army are strengthened with the power of the Black Tortoise Crystal, although the specialist arms that directly siphon power from the Crystal are no longer allowed for use in fear of weakening the Crystal itself.

The paladins were led by the Lorican king, who has been known to partake in battle. During the Great Orience War, for example, the king of that time managed to hold his own against a Vermilion Bird l'Cie, although the battle ended in a draw with both parties killed.

After the alliance is annihilated by the Militesi Ultima Bomb, its army is obliterated as well. Some survivors were taken away by Militesi to be brainwashed and are used by the empire for experiments to produce supersoldiers.

[view·edit·purge]The Four Symbols (Chinese: 四象; pinyin: Sì Xiàng) are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are the Azure Dragon, (Qing Long) of the East, the Vermilion Bird (Zhu Que) of the South, the White Tiger (Bai Hu) of the West, and the Black Turtle (Xuan Wu) of the North. While originating from China, the Four Symbols are also widely known in Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Each region have distinct names for the symbols. In Japan, the Shijin, as they are collectively known, are called Seiryū, Suzaku, Byakko and Genbu respectively.

The country's attributes and qualities, as well as symbolism to one of the animals of the Four Symbols is evident in its themes. Representing the north, Lorica is situated in Orience's northernmost regions. Representing the season of winter, Lorica is situated in a mountainous region, with little to no vegetation. Aligned with the Wu Xing element of water, the Black Tortoise Crystal's powers bestow great physical ability via being in the presence of its magic. Water being essential to all life, ameliorating and vitalizing with its consumption, the Black Tortoise Crystal also manifests its powers in such a manner.

Its animal, the tortoise and snake, both symbolically represent longevity. Both are considered together in the same Symbol, and their name traditionally is known as the "Black Military". Their symbolism also likely represents indomitable fortitude (tortoise), and a fearsome might to not provoke (snake).

The destruction of the Lorican Alliance by Milites draws its conclusion similar to the Battle of Aizu. Despite the Satsuma Rebellion at Japan's farthest reaches ultimately cementing the fall of the samurai, the northern region of Aizu of Tohoku was historically hailed as one of Japan's greatest centers of martial arts, power, and cultural tradition. Upon the Ishin Shishi's penultimate victory through the siege of Edo, Aizu refused to recognize the new rule of the Meiji Government, and headed their own rebellion with other remnants still in allegiance with the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ultimately ended with the capitol castle city of Aizuwakamatsu disastrously razed and many of its citizens perished in the battles that came. Further parallels come from both leaders having survived the fall of their domains; Matsudaira Katamori with Aizu, and Gilgamesh with Lorica, and from how both have ties to the Genji Clan.

Lorica shares some similarities with Ala Mhigo from Final Fantasy XIV. Both are regions felled by the Empire's hand and are the homeland of enormous sized men with dark skin tone.